This invention relates generally to settings or mounts used to retain a gem stone in a piece of jewelry such as a ring, pendant, earring, etc., as well as the articles of jewelry themselves. More particularly, the invention relates to a mount for securing the gem stone in the jewelry piece which comprises a pair of mating members which join by threaded engagement means to retain the gem stone, such that deformation of the metal comprising the mount is not required to secure the gem stone therein.
Diamonds, emeralds, rubies and other precious gem stones are cut and mounted into jewelry for the adornment of the wearer. The jewelry piece may be a ring, a pendant on a necklace, a brooch, earrings, etc. and the mounts are usually composed of a precious metal such as gold or silver. The gem stones are cut to enhance light reflection and refraction, and it is therefore desirable to mount a gem stone in a mounting or setting which does not interfere with the visual brilliance of the gem stone. This desire to minimize the amount of material securing the gem stone must be offset by the need to adequately secure the valuable gem stone within the mounting. In addition, since gem stones are hand cut each will vary in configuration. A typical mounting method is to provide a mount with a seating ring adapted to retain a portion of the rear of the gem stone and to provide a small number of fingers or prongs which are bent onto the top of the gem stone to lock the gem stone between the prongs and the ring. Another similar method is to provide an annular rim which is deformed around the top of the gem stone to interlock the gem stone between the outer ring and the seating ring. Both of these methods have been used for many years and are most adequate in securing the gem stone in the jewelry piece, as they allow the craftsman to deform the mount to fit the particular gem stone. The major drawback to these types of mounts in the commercial world is that, to insure that the setting is secure and to produce an aesthetically pleasing piece of jewelry, the work of deforming the metal around the gem stone must be performed by a skilled craftsman properly trained and experienced in the art of mounting gem stones. This fact means that retailers without such a skilled employee cannot offer gem stone mounting on the premises, resulting in increased costs, risk of loss, and delay problems to the consumer.
It is an object of this invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing gem stone mount which securely retains the gem stone in the setting without unduly interfering with the visual brilliance of the gem stone, where the gem stone can be secured within the mount in a relatively simple manner by untrained and unskilled individuals, such that creation of the jewelry piece is relatively easy, and further such that gem stones may be easily interchanged within a single mount, such as for example exchanging a diamond for a ruby to alter the color of the jewelry. It is a further object to provide such a mount which is generally universal in its acceptance of gem stones, within certain ranges, and which can be mass produced without the need to precisely match each mount to a particular gem stone. In order to accomplish this, the variation in individual gem stones must be taken into account. This variation includes not only the overall size of the gem stone but also the particular cut of the gem stone, i.e., the number of facets, the angles between the facets, the relative size ratios of individual facets to each other, the height and width of the gem stone, etc. While a skilled craftsman can bend and form the malleable metal of a typical mount to account for these variations, thereby creating a mount which corresponds exactly as required to the particular gem stone being secured therein, a more universal mount must be able to accommodate and account for individual gem stone size and shape differences within a reasonable range. To this end, the invention utilizes a pair of interlocking members which secure the gem stone therebetween, the members being preferably joined by threaded engaging means and preferably having an annular, resilient, sizing member which abuts a small portion of the back of the gem stone.
Other dissimilar attempts to provide a universal gem stone mount or a means to allow for relatively simple removal and replacement of gem stones within a mount or setting include mounts wherein a gem stone is mounted in a retaining member which is removable from the jewelry piece, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,383,146 to Perrin. In Perrin, the gem stone is mounted within a threaded, removable, retaining member in the conventional fashion by forming the metal about the gem stone, meaning that a skilled craftsman must be utilized and a separate retaining member provided for each gem stone. In U.S. Pat. No. 949,657 to Murrin, a permanent setting is created by providing a threaded, annular collar which abuts the back of the gem stone, the front of the gem stone being retained by an annular lip formed in the main body of the jewelry piece. The internal collar must be provided with spanner recesses to allow it to be threaded into the main body. Because the edges and facets of the gem stone directly contact the metal of the setting, the security of this setting will deteriorate over time and the stone is likely to loosen. In addition, excessive stresses at the metal to gem stone contact interface which may be created during the threading process can cause the gem stone to crack or chip. U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,442 to Parker et al. shows the use of an annular, plastic cushion to back the gem stone to provide shock resistance and seal the back side of the stone in a permanent setting, but the cushion is used with a standard setting where the stone is retained by deforming the upper lip or rim of the main body of the setting. In addition, the annular cushion is to be triangular in cross-section and is provided with a tapered surface of particular angle (less than 50 degrees) which is to correspond to a seat bevel cut into the stone. Correct sizing of the setting is accomplished by providing a separate shim member of the desired dimensions composed of a relatively non-compressible plastic. A setting with a removable gem stone is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,434 to Wertheimer et al., wherein a complicated, multiple hinged cover is taught--the cover encircling the main body of the jewelry piece and mechanically locking in order to secure the stone.